AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) vs Olostep MCP Server
A side-by-side look at the AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) and Olostep MCP Server MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
A
AutomationNation data tools (via Apify)Search & Data Extraction · Local subprocess (stdio)Google Shopping, Flights, Hotels, News, Images, Ads, Jobs, Trends, YouTube transcripts, leads.52GoodAuth: not declaredVerdict: choose AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) for search & data extraction work as a local process; choose Olostep MCP Server for search & data extraction as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
AChoose AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
APIFY_TOKEN. - You want tools like
search_flights, search_hotels, search_google.
Choose Olostep MCP Server when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
OLOSTEP_API_KEY. - You want tools like
create_map, create_crawl, get_crawl_results.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | A AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search & Data Extraction | Search & Data Extraction |
| Quality signal | 52/100 · Good | 61/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | BYOK (pay the provider) | BYOK (pay the provider) |
| Required env vars | APIFY_TOKEN | OLOSTEP_API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 24 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 19 | 10 |
| Full listing | View AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) | View Olostep MCP Server |
Tools & capabilities
AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) tools 19
search_flightsSearch Google Flights for one route and date.search_hotelsSearch Google Hotels for a city, neighbourhood or landmark.search_googleSearch Google and get the web results in Google's order: title, URL, site and snippet for each.search_google_shoppingSearch Google Shopping for a product in any country.get_youtube_transcriptsGet the transcript (captions) of YouTube videos, with title, channel, duration, caption language and word count, and optional timestamps.search_google_newsSearch Google News for a topic, company or person.search_google_imagesSearch Google Images.search_google_videosSearch Google's video results across YouTube, TikTok, Vimeo, news sites and more.search_jobsSearch Google Jobs, which aggregates listings from LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, company career sites and more, in 26 countries.get_google_trendsGoogle Trends for up to 5 keywords: interest over time (0–100), average, latest and peak interest, trend direction and change, top regions, and top and rising related searches with "Breakout" flags.get_trending_searchesWhat's trending on Google right now in a country, like trends.google.com/trending: each trending search with its search volume, increase, start time, whether it is still active, related searches and optional news articles.find_local_businessesFind local businesses on Google Maps in any country, as sales leads.- +7 more on the listing page
Olostep MCP Server tools 10
create_mapGet a LIST of URLs on a website (URL discovery only — does NOT scrape content). Use when the user wants a list of links: 'show me all URLs on this site', 'map this website', or when you want to surface candidate URLs to the user before scraping a subset. Prefer `create_crawl` if the goal is to scrape the whole site — it discovers AND scrapes in one workflow. Use this only when the URL list itself is the deliverable.create_crawl**PREFERRED tool for crawling a website.** Use this whenever the user says 'crawl', 'scrape the whole site', 'get all pages from a site', or wants multiple pages from a single domain. This is the CORRECT tool for any whole-site scraping task. **Do NOT use `batch_scrape_urls` for crawling** - that tool is only for when you already have a specific list of unrelated URLs from different domains. Starts an ASYNC crawl that autonomously discovers and scrapes pages by following links from a start URL. Returns a crawl_id - the crawl runs in the background. You MUST then call `get_crawl_results` with the returned crawl_id to poll status and retrieve the scraped pages. Do NOT call `get_batch_results` with a crawl_id - crawls and batches are separate resources.get_crawl_resultsRetrieve the status and scraped pages for a crawl job. Pass the crawl_id returned by create_crawl. If the crawl is still in_progress, returns the current status so you can call again later (poll every ~10 seconds). Once completed, returns the list of discovered pages with their scraped content in the requested formats. This is the REQUIRED companion to create_crawl — create_crawl only kicks off the async job, this tool is how you actually get the content.batch_scrape_urlsScrape a SPECIFIC, KNOWN list of URLs (typically from different domains). **Do NOT use this for crawling a website** - if the user wants to scrape a whole site or 'crawl' a domain, use `create_crawl` instead. Use this only when you already have an explicit list of URLs to scrape (e.g., user provides a CSV of URLs, or you need to scrape unrelated pages). Returns a batch_id immediately. Use `get_batch_results` with the batch_id to fetch the scraped content once the batch completes (~5–8 min). Set `wait_for_completion_seconds` to poll automatically.get_batch_resultsRetrieve the status and scraped content for a batch job. Pass the batch_id returned by batch_scrape_urls. If the batch is completed, returns the scraped content for each URL. If still in_progress, returns the current status so you can call again later.answersAnswer a factual question using web search, optionally shaped into a flat JSON object of fields (returned with sources and citations). Best for a bounded, factual answer (e.g. a company's founding year, a product's current price). It is NOT reliable for enumerating a live list from a page (e.g. 'the latest N blog posts with titles and dates'). For that, use create_map or get_webpage_content on the page and read the results instead.search_webSearch the web for a given query and return structured results (non-AI, parser-based).scrape_websiteExtract content from a single URL. Supports multiple formats and JavaScript rendering.get_webpage_contentRetrieve content of a webpage in markdownget_website_urlsSearch and retrieve relevant URLs from a website (URL discovery only - does NOT scrape content). Use this only when the user wants a *filtered list of links* matching a search query. **Do NOT use this as a precursor to scraping** - if the user wants to scrape/crawl a site, use `create_crawl` directly.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
AutomationNation data tools (via Apify)
{
"mcpServers": {
"automationnation-data-tools-via-apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"github:retracn/automationnation-mcp"
],
"env": {
"APIFY_TOKEN": "YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Olostep MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"olostep-olostep-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"olostep-mcp"
],
"env": {
"OLOSTEP_API_KEY": "YOUR_OLOSTEP_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) is categorized under Search & Data Extraction and uses a local stdio subprocess. Olostep MCP Server belongs to Search & Data Extraction and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) for search & data extraction work and Olostep MCP Server for search & data extraction.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Olostep MCP Server is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Auth: api key required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add automationnation-data-tools-via-apify and olostep-olostep-mcp-server as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, AutomationNation data tools (via Apify) has a quality signal of 52/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Olostep MCP Server has 61/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 24 GitHub stars.